Assam CM lays foundation stone for community kitchen where meals for 25,000 children will be cooked

Guwahati, Sept 4 (PTI) Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday laid the foundation stone of a community kitchen in Sonitpur district, where mid-day meals of 25,000 children will be cooked.

The new kitchen in Durrung Tea Estate will serve students of schools across the Tezpur, Rongapara and Barchala assembly constituencies.

Sarma said the government will spend Rs 25 crore for the project, and ISKCON will also build a temple at the site.

He said the funding for mid-day meals will be shared, with 60 per cent borne by the state government and 40 per cent by the Akshaya Patra Foundation.

Sarma said the implementation of the mid-day meal Scheme has greatly benefited students from poor families, and along with this, the state government has introduced free uniforms and free admission schemes, which together have created a healthy educational environment.

The community kitchen, to be built over 1,718 sq metre, will have staff quarters, a training centre, a multipurpose hall and utility and security blocks.

The CM recalled his visit to the ISKCON temple in Bengaluru in 2009, when he was the Education Minister, and said he was deeply impressed by the temple's kitchen and food supply system.

Sarma said inspired by this, he initiated the first centralised kitchen in Jalukbari constituency that has been serving mid-day meals to 45,000 students and also to hospital attendants and patients for the last 12 years.

He said that a centralised kitchen has already been set up in Jorhat, catering to 20,000 students, while another is nearing completion in Majuli.

Construction of such kitchens has also begun in Nalbari, Dibrugarh and Lakhimpur recently, he said.

Sarma said the government is considering providing breakfast for students in tea garden areas, as many parents leave early in the morning for work.

He announced that a new scheme will be launched in November, under which Rs 300 per month will be provided to every student appearing for the High School Leaving Certificate (HSLC) examination, until they pass.

This will support 5 lakh students of the state, he said. PTI DG DG SOM